2025-on CCM Street Moto Review | Entry-level thumper makes hand-built exclusivity more affordable

Small-scale manufacturers can be found lacking when it comes to the finer points of chassis setup, thanks to the comparative lack of manpower and budget to nail down the best compromise of spring rates, damping and geometry.

No such grief with the CCM: five years building a range of bikes that share core components, as well as ongoing and thorough testing (R&D man Ben spends more time than is healthy hammering prototypes over Belgain pavé) means the Street Motos not only handle well, but are underpinned with stability and even good ride quality over the abysmal road surfaces on some of the Lancashire roads close to CCM’s base.

• Related: Protect your bike with one of MCN's recommended best maintenance sprays

That’s an especially neat trick for such lightweight bikes (base is 141kg full of fluids, while the R’s lighter wheels and lack of inner tubes shave two kilograms) – it’s a fine line between retaining brake and cornering support as well as keeping things plush when you’re not riding elbows-up and levering it over.

The difference between the Street Moto and Street Moto R’s suspension proved largely visual, with both versions offering ride quality and handling with no discernible penalty for choosing the more basic machine. The main handling difference comes from the wheels, where the circa-1kg unsprung weight saving at each end makes the R much sharper-steering and sportier feeling compared to the heavier spoked rims (with inner tubes to boot) on the entry model.

That counts in favour of the R on smooth roads, but owners of standard bikes will be happier rougher roads or surfaces with reduced grip, where the extra weight helps it feel more planted. Neither bike threatened to get unstable, but the R is just that little less sure of itself when not enough taxpayer cash has been spent on road maintenance…

Some may lament the switch from Öhlins suspension to the Thai-made YSS, but they’re a well-liked and proven option in the aftermarket world, and the extra developed that’s been put into these settings means it’s actually better in reality: owners often complain earlier bikes with the Swedish kit can be harsh.

Braking on both bikes is by a single J.Juan radial four-piston caliper that has nice feel and progression, no doubt partially thanks to the lack of ABS paraphernalia interrupting the connection between rider and friction surfaces. The single piston works nicely for those who use it for fine control at low speeds (or teasing the back end sideways with a little bit of backing-in to corners…).

If you’ve learnt to ride on bikes fitted with ABS, it’s not going to immediately dump you on the floor either (unless you do something really dumb) – it’s controllable enough, with enough support and feel from the forks, that you should be able to handle grip levels yourself.

Husqvarna designs from the early part of the century when the Swedish firm was run by the Cagiva group, before they were sold to Pierer and began using KTM lumps. The claimed 55bhp feels about right, and is enough to have a bit of fun with without being too focused for the kind of bikes CCM makes. It does vibe, and no doubt hours of high-speed riding would become uncomfortable. But you’d be insane to buy a bike like this and expect to get away with that…

Throttle response is good too, thanks to both a long development life as well as not having to conform to Euro standards, which make a nice twist grip feel difficult to achieve with the lean fuelling conditions they force upon manufacturers. No matter how good ride-by-wire gets, there’s still an undeniable satisfaction that comes from physically opening the throttle butterfly yourself.

It’s worth noting that while all CCMs use the same engine/throttle body design, they have subtly different power characteristics thanks to exhaust layout. The Street Moto’s low-level exhaust has slightly smaller-bore pipework than the Street Moto R’s high-level system, necessitated by the need to maintain ground clearance: a fat header trialled in developed limited clearance.

So it’s fractionally down on power and torque (although the precise difference isn’t stated by CCM), but it’s also softer at the first touch of the throttle and smoother throughout. If you’re not fussed about giving it big handfuls and riding like your hair is on fire, the base model is the nicer bike to ride at slow to moderate speeds.

But you’ll want the Street Moto R for really having fun – just the slightest touch of snatch'iness at the first touch of gas, as well as a slight increase in vibes, is made up for by a freer-revving and friskier feel, particularly at higher rpm where the larger pipework doesn’t hold the motor back like the underslung header does.

First impressions are broadly good – it’s well-detailed with nice-looking fit and finish for the most part, as you’d expect on a bike like this. There are a few bits that niggle – the sidestand is an annoying design that flips-up when you take weight off it, and it also hangs down on a slightly ugly bracket too. There’s also threaded bosses in the swingarm that are used for the licence plate bracket on other models, but redundant here – they look a bit messy.

Owners of other variants broadly report that they last well, though be mindful that most won’t cover lots of miles. One review reports that daily use invites corrosion a little too readily on the steel frame. Not likely to be an issue for the majority of owners who’ll dodge wet, salty roads, but if you believe in riding, not hiding your bikes, then it’ll be worth spraying protective spray.

Some owners also comment that the engine and gearbox don’t fully break-in and free up until they’re well over 1000 miles, so be mindful of that if your box-fresh Street Moto feels a bit rough in places: it’ll get better the more you ride it.

Very much a subjective matter here: just short of £10k for a 600 single totally devoid of modern convenience is not objectively good value, when bikes like the Ducati Scrambler offer more of that for the same money, or Yamaha’s XSR700 is similarly simple but stylish, for less money.

The CCM’s USPs are the exclusivity, hand-built nature and the raw, essential kit-only build. It’s not a bike designed by committee, built for a target demographic, and pandering to tough EU standards. It’s built to be fun and pleasing to the eye – nothing more.

Direct rivals are few, as the only big road-going singles on sale are the KTM 690SMC-R/GasGas 700SM/Husqvarna 701SM platform, and the Ducati Hypermotard 698. The Street Moto isn’t really a supermoto like those bikes: the KTM is a fairly committed ‘motard built to be ridden aggressively. The Ducati is a little more usable and perhaps the closest appromixation, but is still a mass-produced bike and is significantly heavier than the bare-bones CCM.

Otherwise, your options for a mid-size funky middleweight are broadly twins: depending on taste, you could consider the Ducati Scrambler, the Fantic Caballero 700 or the Triumph 900 Scrambler.

Standard goodies are… non-existent. You’re paying for the pure mechanical package, not electronic fripperies and the like. To offset that, CCM do offer a factory customisation program for their bikes, although that is reduced compared to other models where you can specify the finish and materials on just about everything.

The Street Moto comes with a fixed colour options list, you can only have the frame in the standard satin black too. There’s still plenty of scope for accessorising and personalising it, however. There’s further exhaust options, carbon parts, billet bolt-ons and more